MANILA — Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Nene Q. Pimentel,
Jr. (PDP-Laban) today urged the Commission on
Elections to immediately relieve or suspend regional
election supervisor Rey Sumalipao of the Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and provincial
election supervisor Lintang Bedol of Maguindanao for
their failure to prevent vote-padding and shaving
operations in their areas of jurisdiction which
benefited administration senatorial and other
candidates.
Pimentel said Sumalipao should be held responsible for
various irregularities that marred the May 14
elections in the provinces under ARMM, such as rigging
of the results of the senatorial elections, failure to
purge flying voters and banning of representatives of
accredited poll watch groups and members of the media
from entering venues of provincial or municipal
canvassing of votes, and refusal to give copies of
election returns to opposition representatives.
On the other hand, Bedol has mysteriously disappeared,
ignoring the summons of Comelec, as national board of
canvassers (NBC), to appear before it to explain
fraudulent results of the senatorial polls in
Maguindanao which gave Team Unity a 12-zero victory in
the province.
It will add to Comelecs credibility if Chairman
Benjamin Abalos will immediately suspend Sumalipao and
Bedol for various election anomalies in their areas of
responsibility. Then charge them with electoral
sabotage, Pimentel said.
Pimentel earlier commended the Comelec for relieving
provincial election supervisors Yogie Martirizar of
North Cotabato and Lilian Radam of South Cotabato
after failing to appear before the NBC which had
summoned them to explain the large-scale dagdag-bawas
operations in their respective provinces of
assignment.
The minority leader said it is only logical that
Sumalipao and Bedol should also be meted the sanction
for committing similar, if not much graver, violations
of election laws.
Meanwhile, Pimentel also urged the Comelec to
investigate the allegation that municipal election
supervisor Malic Sansarona of Bagumbayan, Sultan
Kudarat had padded the vote counts of Team Unity
senatorial candidates Edgardo Angara and Juan Miguel
Zubiri by 10,000 votes each.
He said the Comelec should initiate the filing of
electoral sabotage charge against Sansarona if the
accusation is proven to be true.
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2007 Elections
